Main description:

Phenomenology is a challenging method for many students to understand and apply. Introduction to Phenomenology: Focus on Methodology breaks down the history, methodology, and application so students can more easily write proposals and conduct phenomenological research. Author Cheryl Tatano Beck draws on her depth of experience in applying and teaching phenomenological methods to distill the method into a single guidebook for students and new researchers alike. This introductory book provides a clearer picture of phenomenology as method and its applications to social, behavioral, and health sciences, covering both interpretive and descriptive phenomenology from research design through analysis.

This book is divided into four parts. Part I briefly provides the philosophical underpinnings of descriptive and interpretive (hermeneutic) phenomenology, summarizing the main goals of the original texts. Part II focuses on descriptive phenomenology, while Part III concentrates on interpretive phenomenology. Each type of methodology is covered in its own chapter, with tables comparing the methodologies to one another so readers can better understand the differences and similarities. Part IV addresses evaluating, writing, and teaching phenomenology. Unique chapters on writing a proposal, getting your study published, developing a research program, and preparing to teach phenomenology help complete the cycle of research and help graduate students transition from student to researcher to teacher. Appendices provide study activities for students and examples of two types of phenomenological proposals.

Contents:

List of Tables and Figures
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter 1. Introduction
Part 1. Philosophical Underpinnings of the Methodology
Chapter 2. Philosophy of Phenomenology
Edmund Husserl
Martin Heidegger
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Hans-Georg Gadamer
Part 2. Descriptive Phenomenology
Chapter 3. Paul Colaizzi's Descriptive Phenomenological Methodology
Research Question
Sample
Data Collection
Data Analysis
The Lived Experience of Postpartum Depression
Examples of Research from Various Disciplines
Chapter 4. Amedeo Giorgi's Descriptive Phenomenological Methodology
Research Question
Sample
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Examples of Published Studies Using Giorgi's Descriptive Phenomenological Methodology
Chapter 5. Adrian van Kaam's Descriptive Phenomenological Methodology and Clark Moustakas's Modification
Research Question
Sample
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Examples of a Study from My Program of Research
Additional Examples of Studies Using Van Kaam's Descriptive Phenomenological Approach
Clark Moustakas's Modification of van Kaam's Approach
Examples of Moustakas's Modification of Van Kaam's Approach
Comparison of van Kaam's Methodology and Moustakas's Modification
Chapter 6. Karin Dahlberg's Descriptive Phenomenological Reflective Lifeworld Research
Introduction to the Reflective Lifeworld Methodology
Descriptive Phenomenological Reflective Lifeworld Approach
Comparison of Five Descriptive Phenomenological Methodologies
Choosing one of the Descriptive Phenomenological Methods
Part 3. Interpretive Phenomenology
Chapter 7. Max van Manen's Hermeneutic Phenomenological Approach
Research Question
Sample
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Examples of International Research from Various Disciplines Using Van Manen's Methodology
Chapter 8. Patricia Benner's Interpretive Phenomenological Methodology
Sample
Data Analysis
International Examples of Studies Using Benner's Interpretive Phenomenological Methodology
Chapter 9. Jonathan Smith's Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)
Research Questions
Sample
Data Collection
Data Analysis
International Examples of IPA Research from Various Disciplines
Chapter 10. Karin Dahlberg's Hermeneutic Reflective Lifeworld Research Methodology
Hermeneutic Reflective Lifeworld Methodology
Comparison of the Four Interpretive Phenomenological Methodologies
Choosing One of the Interpretive Phenomenological Methodologies
Part 4. Evaluating, Writing, and Teaching Phenomenology
Chapter 11. Trustworthiness in Qualitative Research
Trustworthiness vs. Reliability and Validity
Strategies for Enhancing Quality
Criteria for Evaluating Phenomenological Research
Criteria for Evaluating Qualitative Research in General
Student Exercise for Evaluating a Phenomenological Study
Chapter 12. Phenomenological Writing
Strategies
Figures
Qualitative Reporting Checklists
End-of-Chapter Study Activities
Chapter 13. Developing a Program of Research Using Phenomenology
Chapter 14. Teaching Phenomenology: Preparing Our Next Generation of Researchers
Other Faculty Members' Teaching Strategies
My Teaching Strategies
Phenomenology Tips
Glossary
Appendix A. First Study Activity for Students
Appendix B. Second Study Activity for Students
Appendix C. Mothers' Experiences of Posttraumatic Growth Following Traumatic Childbirth: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study Proposal
Appendix D. The Impact of Traumatic Birth on Mothers Caring for Their Children: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study Proposal
Index